northern lights

Monday, 31 August 2015

Gown red coloured covers her frame from top to bottom. pretty flowers adorn her dress lost in the white fragrant mums thoughts of optimistic joyful engross her oh when will the king of her dreams come her virgin features glow thinking of him she grasps the gift of love in the bag, wonders where is her dear love what is holding him back mums' petal fall down come my beloved eyes tired come!!Written fo Magpie Tales 283 http://magpietales.blogspot.in/

Death looms upon day and night keep weaving dreams of future, brush aside the reality we know. Alas! it's a bitter truth. This is another attempt of Dodoitsu.http://myblog-verses.blogspot.in/Written for Carpe Diem .pic carpe diem

Sunday, 30 August 2015

Life is a big teacher. It is a live movie,which depicts every action, every movement and emotion on the canvas of life. I have seen and experienced life from different frames. In my eighty years of existence there have been ups and downs. Every human being has to face good and bad days. Life is not a straight line. In the graph of our existence, sometimes we touch the peak and some other time we go the bottom. An interesting thing is that every thing happens without any prior notice or any symptom. Life has taught me that we must always remain happy. If we are happy and cheerful, we spread happiness. A famous saying,''if you laugh the world will laugh with you; if you cry , you cry alone.'' I have experienced that if you crib all the time, people will move away from you. If, on the other hand if you havea genial temperament, people flock around you.The next thing I believe is that we must not use harsh words.A soft spoken person is always sought after, whether at home or at work. It is generally seen that a person who is contended and is at rest within, is always respected by others. I firmly believe that if you speak calmly and pleasantly to not only with your superiors but with your subordinates, you are respected and appreciated.I strongly feel that we must never degrade or criticise our subordinates in an open assembly., it amounts to insulting them. Our subordinates appreciate being spoken to with kind words for them. No one likes to be publicly hammered in the head.Mahatama Gandhi's famous quotation ''I praise loudly, I blame softly,'' is true for all times. Our work place is for fulfilling our targets and to be up to date and sincere in our work. We must not indulge in loose talk by criticising the boss/ management. Generally it is found that people find great satisfaction in talking ill of the boss.At tea time or during lunch hour, the boss is always targeted. The gist of such talk is that the boss knows nothing, and is merely surviving on the output of the subordinates.What a blasphemy!In my long innings, I concluded that office friendships are not everlasting. Such friendships are based on personal interest and are subject to fluctuations. As an example, your ''friend'' is expecting a promotion, but you get it. The ''friendship'' is instantly converted into enmity. Be good to every one. Be happy and spread happiness.

Thursday, 27 August 2015

What a coincidence! This year , the two festivals from two different parts of the country,in keeping with the spirit of unity in diversity, will be celebrated together. Our family is unique in that sense. In our original family and extended family the spirit of unity is very much evident. There are boys/girls from different regions, all maintaining the spirit of unity in diversity. We have Punjabis, Malyalis, Tamilian, Gujarati, Odhiya,Bengali and also American and Japanese. We represent a mini globe. It is delightful that Onam and Raksha Bandhan both are falling almost together. Both these festivals have spread a spirit of festivity. Onam is celebrated with great enthusiasm. It is a belief that even if you have to sell your land, you must celebrate Onam. The festivities go on for a week. People decorate their houses with flowers,which is known as Phookalam. Here is a sample.The famous boat race, in the back waters are held at this time of the year.

The most important event is the Onam Sadya, a feast, in which special delicacies like avial, eraserry, olan and payasam of two three varieties is served. In the grand feast, food is served on banana leaves. Raksha Bandhan will also be celebrated on the coming weekend. This an important festival, celebrated through out North India. It is a very pious and solemn festival. Girls tie a ''rakhi'' around the wrist of their brothers and pray for their well being and long life. Traditionally rakhi was made of coloured thread. Now they are becoming glamorous, with rakhis of silver, gold and costly gems. The sister put a Tika on the forehead of the brother. The brother gives gifts to the sisters.

In our family rakhi is a time for the whole family to assemble in one place, generally in our house. It is a great occasion to meet everyone and celebrate. The video shown below gives a glimpse how sisters tie a rakhi.

Wednesday, 26 August 2015

Like Haiku, Dodoitsu is also a Japanese form of poetry. It is a four line poem, generally on love or humour. It has four lines with 7-7-7-5. I am making a sincere attempt here. No fear of any body I sleep fearlessly, in my beloved's arms. Calm and quiet. On a dark stormy night dogs barking in fury, at their own shadow. Cats are smiling.Written for Carpe Diem Tokubedsudesu # 58 Dodoitsu

Tuesday, 25 August 2015

There are certain tips which have been passed on from one generation to another. Sometimes there is no explanation or any scientific fact to prove the authencity of the tips,but they are followed by a large number of people. Young brides, who are not experienced may find these tips useful. Of course, after some time when they acquire expertise,they will themselves give tips to others/There are certain tips which I practised in my younger days and found them useful. I am sharing some of them here.1. To get rid of ants a heavy chalk mark laid a finger's distance from your sugar box and all around (theremust be no space not covered) will surely prevent ants from troubling.2.To make lemonade squeeze lemon in the ice tray and get lemon ice cubes.3.Add a little milk to onions while frying, this will help retain a
rich colour and prevent them from burning.4. If you want to make chanas and forgot to soak it in water, you can just put the chana in a caserole full of boiling water for an hour.
They are ready for cooking.

5. Okra(bhindi) will neither be sticky nor black, if a little curd is added to it .

6. While cooking fried vegetables sprinkle a little gramflour over the vegetables. Gramflour absorbs the excess
oil and makes the vegetable tastier.

7. If curry turns out a bit oily and pungent take two bread slices and powder them coarsely. Add this to the curry and mix
well. Bread absorbs the excess oil and spice.

8. To cook 'dal' fast add a little oil and turmeric powder to the dal before placing it in the
cooker. It will cook faster.

9. Peel and cut potatoes and boil them in water to which a little vinegar is added
. They will be done in no time and will retain the texture as well.

10.Give rich fruit cake a lovely flavor when you are
making it byadding half a cup of black coffee. 11. If you can’t get the lid off a jar, wear a pair of rubber gloves;you’ll find it will come off easily.

12. For light and fluffy omelets, add 1 tbsp. of water for each egg,instead of milk.

13. To get rid of the onion smell on your hands, wash them in milk.

14. Stop bananas turning brown by wrapping them in a
tea towel andstoring them in a cupboard.

15.You can revive dry cakes by brushing them with
milk and warmingthem in the oven for a couple of minutes.

16.If you are trying to move a heavy object in the
kitchen such as afrig or a washing machine, pour a little washing liquid on the tiled floor;
the machine will slip along easily.

17. To remove tea stains from a kettle, fill it with water and boil it thenadd two or three tablespoons of vinegar. Leave it for a couple of hours and it
will be like new.

18. If mutton does not become soft, after prolonged boiling,a piece of raw papaya will do the trick.

19.If your eyes water while peeling onions, cut them in a bowl of water.

20.If your hand gets burnt in the kitchen, cut a potato and rub it on the affected portion.

or

Dip your hand in ice cold water immediately.

21. A very delicious dessert can be made by vanilla ice cream. Put the ice cream in a serving bowl and add cut mangoes/ strawberries/cherry in the ice cream and keep it in the frig.

Monday, 24 August 2015

The blue sky The stars, the moon and rain where is the artist. With one stroke He brushed the huge canvas multiple colors. You and me brushed eyes, hair skin An amazing artist.Written for Haiku Horizons 'brush'Linked to http://myblog-verses.blogspot.in/

Jeetu was managing a car park in the premises of an exhibition ground of a metropolitan city, which could accommodate two hundred cars at one time. Jeetu was a very soft spoken person. he wished every car owner ,who parked his car in his space. Every day, about six hundred cars were parked in his space. He managed the car park for twenty years and retired gracefully. After his retirement there was complete chaos in the car park. There were no direction. The Transport Department wrote to the exhibition authorities to post a substitute for the parking lot. The administrator informed the Transport Department that the parking lot was under their control and it was for the Transport Department to send a substitute. Mr. Jeetu, who was now a millionaire, was leading a life of luxury in his air conditioned apartment.What a great retirement plan!

Sunday, 23 August 2015

Anuradha, a forty year old was always enamoured of Psychology. The school and the college where she studied did not offer this subject. The love for the subject lingered on in her mind,. Once she saw an advertisement in the newspaper that an organisation was conducting classes for six weeks in Psychology for adults, so that they may improve interpersonal relations. She joined the course. On the last day of the course, the instructor invited Anuradha to the stage. He asked her to write the names of twenty people who mattered to her the most. She wrote names of her family members, friends and neigbours. Then he told her tu rub off four names without whom her life would go on normally. She erased four names. The instructor asked her to erase four more till only four names remained on the board. These four were, i. father, ii. mother, iii.son and iv. husband. Now she was directed to erase three names. She looked dazed. She felt her hands were numb. There was a stunning silence, till the instructor asked her to be quick. With trembling hands she erased three names except that of her husband. After doing this she could not control her emotions and wept bitterly. After she calmed down the instructor asked her to exp[ain the criteria which prompted her to erase the last three names.The instructor asked her, ''Your parents nurtured you, loved you and cared for you.Your only son, whom you doted upon, spent many sleepless nights when he fell ill. How then you gave preference to your husband?'' Her reply was, '' My parents are now old, they will die one day. My son will soon complete his studies and go away,where ever he gets a job. My husband is my sole companion who will always be my side under all conditions.'' The whole class got up and applauded her. This is the truth of life. We must value our life partner above all. This is as much true for husbands as for wives. They are made for each other.

According to the report of the Swach Bharat programme started by the Govt. of India, the cities in the States of West Bengal and Karnataka are the cleanest in India, Mysore is adjudged the cleanest city in the country out of the list of 476 cities. Three other cities, Hassan, Mandya and Bangalore are among the top ten. West Bengal is placed second with 25 of cities figuring among the top 100 cities. The last in the list is the town, Damoh in Madhya Pradesh. The other towns/cities lower in the ladder are Bhind in Madhya Pradesh and Palwal. Bhiwani(Haryana). Chittaurgarh(Rajasthan) Bulandshar(U.P.), Rewari(Haryana), Neemuch(M.P.) Sambal(Odisha). The rankings were based on basis of open defecation and solid waste management practises.Among the big cities, Delhi,the Capital of the country was ranked 16th, much below Bangalore at 7th, Thiruvanthapuram at 8th and Gangtok at 10th. Among the other important cities the ranking is much below. Kolkata at 56th, Chennai 61st, Bhopal 106 th, Mumbai at 140th,Srinagar at 152nd. Lucknow 220th, Hyderabad 275th, Gandhinagar at 310th, Jaipur 370th and Patna 429th. In Gujarat Surat and Ahmedabad were comparatively well placed at 63rd and 79th respectively. The cities of tourist interest like Shimla is ranked 90th, Darjeeling 129th and Tirupati 137th, Agra 145th, Srinagar 152nd, Dehra Dun 360 th, Ajmer 401st,Amritsar 430th were lagging behind in hygiene. All 476 cities, with a population of 100,000 were assessed for sanitation, open defacection and solid waste management .This post may be of interest to the people to know how Govt. conducts enquires and compiles statistics and how criteria is fixed.

Thursday, 20 August 2015

Meena. the second wife of Kanwar was a very noble and God fearing lady. Kanwar had a son,who was only one year old when his wife died.He married Meena for the sake of his son. Meena loved the innocent child. Kanwar was very happy that his son, Bunty had adjusted very well with his new mother.When Bunty was eight year old, Meena had another baby boy. Both boys were the apple of her eyes. Where as the elder son was well mannered and respectful, the younger one was rude, and quarrelsome . When the older boy Bunty was eighteen, Kanwar died leaving behind his assets in the name of his wife.With the passage of time the younger one, Pappu, became obstinate, selfish and arrogant. He insulted his mother and brother. Bunty got married to a very wise girl. She always tried to give good advice to Pappu, but it fell on deaf ears. He became a rowdy and a drunkard. One night he did not come home. In the morning he came home in a drunken state and started shouting at his mother. He demanded five lacs from his mother. She lost her temper and told him that she would not give him a penny. He took out a knife from his pocket. A neighbour called the police. The police came and arrested him for an attempt to kill his mother, and for being drunk. When the police handcuffed him, he started shouting at the top of his voice,'' I would never forgive her for what she has done,''

According to a dictionary meaning religion is the
belief in worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially god.

According to a rough
estimate about 70% people in India have

faith in the existence of some ‘superior form’ which controls

mankind. In most families some form of
acknowledgement is

made which amounts to a
prayer to the ultimate maker of the

universe. The children
acquire the same notions which they see

within the four walls of their house.

We can narrate stories of great religious masters to the children right from childhood so that they gain knowledge of the rich
cultural and social background of the country. This applies to all families irrespective of the religion or faith they follow. There are many
households where parents belong to

inter caste or inter religious marriage. In the case of
inter caste marriages, there may not be any conflict about the religious
practises followed by the parents. But in inter
religious marriages the question arises which religion the children
should the child follow. It is generally observed in such conditions
that parents do not follow only one religion. Both religions are given equal
respect and
importance. This is a very wise step. The children also

tend to have equal faith in
both religions.

In the case of families where husband and
wife believe

in different religions, it
is always wise not to thrust any one

religion on the children.
It must be left to the children to follow

the religion they want to.

Our daughter was sent to a Convent school,
where she learnt

prayers of Christianity.
There was a big Church within the

compound of the school. Our
daughter used to visit the Church

before she went to school. She loved to read
the Bible and

other books pertaining to
Christianity. Even though we are devout Hindus. we never dissuaded her from going to the Church or
reading the Bible.. As she grew, we found her to
be very gentle, sweet tempered and a believer of all religions. Today she is a Doctor who
treats her patients with utmost love,
affection and care. Religion is the personal choice of a
person. We must not interfere or thrust upon the children the
religion of our belief. The aim should be that the child becomes a
good human being and cosmopolitan.